A debt collecting law firm that "blindly" relied on a client's records and mistakenly went after an 82-year-old tenant is liable for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act damages even though the slip-up was "benign" and it backed off immediately after learning of the error, a Southern District judge has held.

Judge Lorna Schofield stressed that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a strict liability statute, and while damages can be averted for a bona fide error, the standard is high.